The day started early for me. Waking up at 5am to meet up with fellow Subaru owners by 7am to hit the road for a 1.5hr drive north. Picking up the STi in the morning from the shop and straight lining it to the meet up point.
After installing the coilovers, wheels, and the control arms I have not had much of a chance to drive in the car for more then 10-20min at a time. Well with a couple hundred miles to cover in a day, it was a true test of how the car rode for normal driving. Well after 3hrs in the car, all I can say is this rides better then stock. Yes the ride is more firm, but its much more predicting, less bouncy, and way more fun!
Once the caravan meet up at the second meeting spot about 30 miles out of the city, the group of cars driving up grew to 15 total. Its always fun to see the look on people’s faces when a group of 15 similar cars roll by, some point, some are confused, and some are nothing but smiles.

Arriving at the registration booth, it was apparent that we were not the “norm”. Surrounded by old school muscle, rat rods, and new Mustangs and Cameros. The Subaru’s did draw quite the attention, as they were the only Japanese made cars in a 2 mile radius. Some people where looking, and others where yelling “look at the rice”. Which was followed by a sighting of a mullet in a 5.0 Mustang.
Entering the car show was amazing. The Organizers of the even did a amazing job with the location, the organization, and the parking mayhem that 1000+ cars cause when trying to all park at the same time.
We where placed in a interesting location, right between Mustangs, Cameros, and rat rods. This made it interesting for people who were looking at cars, and to see their faces when the attention would go from a 67 Mustang, to a 2011 STi. The kids loved it, the older guys were interested, and the haters where hating. Throughout the course of the day, we heard the typical comments of “Rice and Soy”, but it was very interesting to see the true car guys check out the 20 or so Subarus and appreciate it. Looking at wide body STi, many of them where intrigued that such a mean looking car could be packing just a little 2.5L motor, barking out the power some of their V8’s had.

After parking the cars, it was time to go walk around the show. Seeing everything from a 2010 Mustang Super snake, all the way to a Model T with a Turbo Toyota motor the show was a blast! Timeless classics in mint condition, to radical builds that resemble nothing short of metalworking at its best. Being a car nerd myself I just found myself looking at the smallest details, and often missing the big picture made it quite fun. As to get new ideas sometimes you need to look outside of what your used to.

The show was spread over several fields, and almost every sort of car from 1910-1980 could be seen. But one gem caught my eye. A 1978 Datsun 280Z. Being a Japanese car freak, this car instantly caught my attention. The Owner took amazing care of the car, and it showed. All 100% stock with nothing other then OEM factory options that this car came with, it was truly a gem for anyone who loves Japanese cars. The only thing ever done was a respray of the paint done several years ago (same color as original), the owner was truly maintaining this car for generations to come. It was such a complete car, that he even had the Original Window sticker that showed a price of something around 9200.00 before factory options (for back then, you could get almost any car Detroit made for that money). After speaking to the owner, I was able to examine the engine bay of the car and to my Surprise I found a ECU, MAF, Wiring harness, and injectors. All I could think of at this point was, ITB’s, Coilovers, TE37V , and Rivet on Fender over’s. Got a little caught up in the car, and only snapped 2 pictures but I hope that’s enough to get your imagination going.

The day was wrapping up quickly, and it was time to go. However this show was great fun, and something we will have to attend in years to come. Maybe next year with a Overall show winning car amongst 1000+ classics….dont think so about the win, but hey you never know.

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1 Comments

“All 100% stock with nothing other then OEM factory options that this car came with, it was truly a gem for anyone who loves Japanese cars. The only thing ever done was a respray of the paint done several years ago (same color as original), the owner was truly maintaining this car for generations to come.”

lol, are you kidding me? That 280z is in no way stock. It has a BODY KIT, for one; sideskirts, rear valence, air dam. Plus the fog lights and the wheels. Not to mention the dealer options such as the side molding, rear louvers, and headlight covers.